This post is coming from a consumer foremost as I can't really call myself an audiophile yet. With that said, there are definitely some things wrong with these headphones. First of all, they are really harsh which makes them uncomfortable for listening. I use headphones to relax, not to be keyed up which also means I can't imagine wearing them to sleep. I have to resort to EQing which isn't recommended.

They also leak sound although not really a con for open ear cans. But for casual listeners who don't have many headphones, these are impractical, secondary headphones. You can't wear em' in your living room cause of the TV, not in the bus cause the driving sounds will make you insane. Even light conversations will spoil your listening experience. Which means more money spent on closed cans or IEMs.

>So most electronic music and modern genres aren't really enjoyable with these because I listen to ambient, minimal, IDM, experimental, etc where every note counts. And the treble in these genres will kill you. Period.

>They sound very good with older genres and acoustic, organic music genres like folk. And also certain songs that are rock. I also tried classical just because of the reviews and they do sound good.

I hate to spoil the Grado fan club but the reviews here were the thing that compelled me to buy them without trying. Turns out "forward, fun, and agressive" meant annoying and harsh to me. I wouldn't had gotten these at any price. Not saying these are bad headphones but they just happen to be bad for me. So If anybody wants to buy them off me just say so.

Edit:

Guys take it easy, sorry I can't conform to all of your views but I can't change my opinion just because some of you guys don't like it. I'm quite taken aback by all the responses, I thought this place would be more open minded. I think its necessary for everybody's opinion to be contributed and considered for a product especially for headphones. I think most people like me use this website as a buying guide and they need to know what the Grado SR60i sounds like with electronic music.

I didn't have the chance to try them before buying and I fell for the hype because I didn't read enough realistic reviews, so I'm trying to put out what is lacking. BTW they did burn-in for awhile and the sound did become a tad less dramatic, not as much as I would had hope though.

Still the buying experience wasn't that bad, I'm sure I needed to know what Grado sound was sooner or later. I now wish I bought the Alessandro MS1i because "based on the reviews", they are a perfect purchase for people who like the Grado sound but can't stand the aggressiveness. I accept that they don't suit me personally but they are good for most circumstances so I'm rating it 3.5 to be objective while sticking to my point of view. I may grow to like them more, who knows?

10 Comments:

It seems like you didn't really read the reviews beforehand, as what you are describing has been mentioned in many reviews before. Research before you buy, as you would have found out they are not good for electronic music, they leak sound a lot as they are open back and that they are treble happy.It seems a bit odd writing a fairly negative review if you didn't research what the headphones sounded like before you purchased them, it would have saved you time and money.I personally enjoy the slightly brighter sound of the SR60, I have started to modify mine too, and they are no longer bass light.

Like ostewart said - you should have done your research properly before buying them. they are phenomenal cans. the clarity and detailing in mids and highs is not something you see in headphones under 100$. they are as good as 200-300$ cans. your music taste requires more bass and these are bass light. you mentioned - you read reviews before making your decision. i can't believe you missed that they were bass light. almost every review screams about it . these cans are mainly made for rock and acoustic music. so it's not the phones fault , it's yours. you should have done your research well. i hate to see you rating them 3 stars. it's an insult to the cans and to us grado men. please take your review down or rate them higher if possible :)

Yrumiclarity, Welcome to Head-Fi. You now have written one more review than I have. Based on the responses you've gotten so far, you can probably understand why I don't write them. ;-)

Yes, Grado's are somewhat of a one trick pony...unfortunately, that trick is not EDM. However, when you take a break from your main music genre and try some rock or acoustic, I encourage you to pull them out as they bring a 'life' to some music that I just haven't experienced with other cans.

@GearMe - Yes, i love my grados very much. and i'm not ashamed to call myself a grado fanboy or "grado man"(yes, it sounds cheesy , but whatever :P)@yrumiclarity - well, i understand. the reason - they are praised so high everywhere is not because they are perfect phones. It is because they have this unique sugary sweet sound signature which is heavenly for acoustic and rock fans. no other phones sound like grado. and people have been recommending them since 1994 :) they have reached legendary status. And another reason is - the clarity in the mids and highs is like you find in 200-300 $ phones. and about the bass if not quantity, but they have quality bass. so you get way more than your money's worth.i haven't come across one average/bad review on them but yours. so when i saw your review , i got riled up. my apologies. grados do get better with time, i hope they grow on you like they did on almost everyone who owns/owned them.

@xoriac - don't get me wrong, I get the passion. There is no sound like a Grado and I will always own a pair. That said, I also get that some folks aren't looking for this lively sound signature; guess I just don't get as riled up when they aren't Grado Fanboys!

Also, you're 100% right, they do get better with time. My only issue with Grados is that there really isn't a next step for me. I like the SR60s the best of the entire low-end of the line (up to the 325s). For me, I'd have to spend $1K or more to get a better Grado experience. That's likely not happening given the alternatives at that level.

@GearMe - i am aware grados sound is not for everyone . people who don't like the lively sound signature like grados shouldn't buy them as simple as that. people should read reviews and try them before they buy them. there are people who blindly buy grados without doing some research , they think - these must be an upgrade to their skull candy cans which have lots of fake bass. and when they buy them , they are disappointed to the core and think these are crap. out of rage they come to headfi or any other site and write crappy reviews on them. i hate that. thats why i get all riled up whenever i read bad things about them coming from skull candy noobs.i am just saying this generally. not pointing at the op here.

and yea, i totally agree with you . there is hardly any difference. prestige series cans sound almost the same. unless i am spending more than 1k$, i won't go for grados. my next upgrade is the HD 598's or shure srh 840. i am confused between them.